The Board has determined that the Veteran's peripheral vestibular disorder is not related to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric conditions (including anxiety and depression) will be remanded as new evidence suggests these conditions may have been incurred during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no causal relationship between the Veteran's peripheral vestibular disorder and his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, nor did they find a connection to any in-service stressors. The Board also notes that the Veteran has reported experiencing anxiety and depression since service, which may be related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- peripheral vestibular disorder, anxiety disorder, depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 15, 2018
- Citation
- 1809504
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1809504.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
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